What other items become needed? I drink a lot of water so a couple of water bottles were important to me. One was for my bedroom and one for wherever I was sitting during the day. If you are a tea or coffee drinker that needs to be set up. A friend brought me an electric hot water kettle and I love it. I have it where it is easily accessible and where I sit during the day. I had another friend bring me a mug with a good handle and top which I was able to hold in my hand while I walk (it was a very short distance to a table). It’s the little things that we don’t think are important when we are use to just walking over and getting something so easily but that becomes major when you are hobbling around on one leg.
What else became so essential? A bag that I could hook onto my walker. Oh my goodness, how important that came to be as I would hobble along from one room to another. When you have no free hand to carry anything the bag becomes your best friend. I set out at first to make my own. I started crocheting one and for some reason lost interest in it after a friend gave me hers to borrow. It has two strips of Velcro which made it easy to put on, remove and adjust on the walker.
So what items did I carry in my bag? A notebook and pen is number one. Having one place to put notes in is essential. You don’t want to be writing things on separate pieces of paper like important phone numbers, doctor appointments, grocery lists etc… Don’t forget items like a container of wipes and lotion. I have these items in a bag by my bed and where I sit most of the day. You are not going to be able to get up all the time to wash your hands so the wipes come in handy and also my skin gets dry so I want lotion by me.
I had a friend that gathered a big bag of grocery bags. And at first I said that’s a lot of bags. But you know I have gone through a lot of them. I have a garbage bag where I sit all day, one by my bed and I use one in the bathroom so that it is easy to grab when gathering the garbage to be taken out. I want to throw this away and I can’t get back up, If you have an injury like mine you don’t want to get back up because it takes energy. Making your space more convenient is huge. You want to make the situation as pleasant as possible.
Something else that was a challenge is that I had a cat. I kept telling myself to establish with a pet sitter just in case and I never did. You might be in the same boat. I am fortunate in one way because I have a cat and not a dog. Cats don’t need a lot of anything just food, water and a clean place to poop. With that said though, you need supplies for a longer period of time so that you won’t have to worry about it.
One of my friends is a pet sitter so I didn’t have to explain about what to get just the brand. That was easy for me. I have enough food for two months and cat litter also. My friend found me a couple of toys that are battery operated so that my Shadow (my babies name) could still get exercise and play time since I couldn’t play with him as I usually do. The challenge for me was getting him water since I was non-weight bearing and I am using a walker. So his bowls are nearest to the bathroom so I would bend and push it towards the bathroom and change the water and when I was putting it back in place I would use the end of the mop to push it along. What we have to come up with to do the things that need to be done. We become creative.
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